Parenthood: Star to Undergo Treatment, Show Delayed Until Midseason — Will Mercy Suffer?

Published: July 14, 2009

For the second time, the new Parenthood series has been delayed due to unfortunate circumstances. Does this mean good news or bad news for another NBC show?

Based on the 1989 feature film of the same name, the new Parenthood revolves around a multi-generational family and their day-to-day problems. The series stars Peter Krause, Maura Tierney, Erika Christensen, Dax Shepard, Bonnie Bedelia, Craig T. Nelson, James Tupper, Guillermo Diaz, Delroy Lindo, James LeGros, and Diego Klattenhoff.

The drama is actually the second series based on the movie. The first is a light-hearted 1990 dramady that ran for only one season on NBC.

Back in April, NBC executive Nora O’Brien died unexpectedly while visiting the set of the show in Berkeley, California. Production on the show’s pilot was shut down for two days as a result.

Now, production has been delayed for eight weeks due to Tierney having a health issue. Production had been scheduled to begin on July 27th.

Will Mercy be hurt by the schedule change?

Tierney informed producers and the network about her situation last week. NBC declined to be specific about the reason for the postponement on Friday but attributed it to a “medical evaluation that [Tierney] is undergoing” and asked the press to respect the star’s privacy.

Because of the network’s somewhat cryptic wording, Tierney chose to address the issue herself. The actress has released a statement that said, “I have discovered a tumor in my breast which requires surgery… I will not know either my exact diagnosis or course of treatment until that surgery is performed. My doctors have all assured me this is a very treatable condition. I’m very optimistic as to the outcome and want to thank everyone who has sent positive thoughts and support. I look forward to going back to work soon.”

Because of the delays, the new version of Parenthood has been shifted to midseason. It had been scheduled to debut on September 23rd. This delay in production will reportedly give the writers more time to finesse the scripts.

Meanwhile, another new show, Mercy, has been moved up on the schedule. The medical drama revolves around a hospital as seen through the eyes of three nurses. The cast includes Taylor Schilling, Michelle Trachtenberg, Jaime Lee Kirchner. Will Mercy, James Tupper, Guillermo Diaz, Delroy Lindo, James LeGros and Diego Klattenhoff.

Mercy had been slated to take over Parenthood’s Wednesday night timeslot in midseason. The drama may or may not keep that timeslot as the peacock network is reevaluating its upcoming schedule.

While Parenthood may benefit from having some more pre-production time, it remains to be seen if Mercy will suffer. The show has to ramp up sooner than planned and NBC now has two medical shows to launch at the same time — Mercy and Trauma. Is Mercy getting the short end of the stick? What do you think?

Parenthood is a great show. Please don’t cancel true entertainment! NBC has so much reality junk and then you get a great show and want to cancel it. It is in a terrible time slot, up against old favorites. I used to love NBC but all of the old great shows with a cast of characters have gone away, dawn a new day and then you want to cancel, crazy!!!

These are my two new favorite shows, Mercy and Parenthood. Very sad to hear that Maura Tierny was supposed to be in it, and is obviously not. I loved her in ER, and hope she is doing well. I do like the show Parenthood and hope it stays on the air, but also LOVE Mercy, and want it back for a second season!!!